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Death Stick
Prelude
In an arctic wasteland:
"Sir, we have reached the cavern. We only need now to begin the ritual."
"Excellent news, excellent in deed. Inform the good Baroness of our progress."
In some distant place:
"There is no more I can teach you, my young pupil. You are ready to begin your journey down a roa...." the old man's words are cut off by the sounds of his death as the dagger slips into his heart. The wielder of the dagger holds the man close as if to hug him for the last time.
"Thank you old man, enjoy the enternal dream." With that the killer lets the old man fall to the floor.
Adventure Summary
Having at last found their way to the long abandoned building which they believed housed the Staff of Bone, the group moved closer. Toglard, taking a hint from the mighty Shane Lee, used a sunder missile to destroy the door from more than 75 feet away. Ignoring Shane Lee, Ulrich rushed forward only to be wounded badly by 4 troll-like creatures.
He steeled himself, remembering what Shane Lee had taught him about pain being 90% mental and gradually managed to focus on the task at hand. He struck with his sword many times, twice cleaving his foes in twain by striking them at the anatomical weak points Shane Lee had taught him. Farrol, a less apt pupil, killed only one while the rest of the group teamed up to kill the fourth. Eight more came and as Shane Lee prepared to cover any errors Toglard made, Tog cast a spell. Luckily, the creatures all died and Shane's well laid contingency plan proved unneeded.
They continued their exploration and eventually found hallway which ended in two elaborately decorated doors. Looking to Master Lee for their guidance, most of the group advanced cautiously, their eyes darting from floor to ceiling to wall to door and back - everyone knew that such fancy doors could only mean they were headed for a trap and perhaps worse. Everyone that is, except Ulrich. He charged down the hall like a man possessed, nearly kicked the door of its hinges, caught fire in an eldritch explosion, then found himself the victim of two giant mummies who left him paralyzed with fear in his freshly soiled pantaloons.
Remembering a bit of arcane knowledge he'd picked up from the Master, Toglard tried a potent fire spell. Just as Shane Lee had said, the dried corpses of the mummies burst into flame immediately and were gone before they could do anymore damage. Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief at being saved once more by the Master's teachings.
As the others pondered this bit of wisdom, hoping to absorb its full impact, Gusmer was overtaken by a strange voice which told him that only he deserved a staff. It was almost as if a past life cried out to him and made him take it. He did but at great cost as the sudden rush of knowledge from the staff left him confused about things he thought he would know forever. Still, he could feel its power resonating within himself and he was well-pleased with his acquisition.
The group departed, but they hadn't gone far when the staff siezed control of Gusmer and forced him to attack Ulrich. Seconds later, he was stunned and reeling the victim of an attack by Shane Lee. The staff was gingerly removed from his clutches and the world seemed right again. The party continued its march outwards and back to the isle of the amazons.
They faced one more foe before they returned to their own plane. A hideous, two-headed lizard a hundred feet long breathed fire and ice on them. Sadly for him, he was no match for Malray's lightning storm and the battle was over as quickly as it had begun.
Returning to the isle things went well until they came in sight of the shore. There they spotted nearly 1000 amazons with supporting ships waiting for them. It did not appear to be afriendly call and became less so when Malik shot one of their generals with a message.
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